Daily Scan: China rules the markets, even on a day off

Good morning. We present you with the China edition of the Daily Scan. These days, China rules the U.S. and European markets almost more than local data. That should make for an interesting Federal Reserve policy meeting later this month. Still, it is jobs' weeks and let's gather up some energy to pay attention to what's going on in our own back yard. U.S. stocks were climbing their way back up Wednesday morning after falling Tuesday. The Dow and Nasdaq both gained about 1% by midday. The S&P 500 climbed 0.76%. The initial ADP report shows that businesses added 190,000 jobs in August, falling short of the expectations of 215,000 jobs added. Factory orders are up for the second straight month, boosting manufacturing 0.4%. Crude oil inventories grew by 4.7 million barrels last week. U.S. crude imports were up by 656,000 barrels/day. Also on the calendar: the Fed's Beige Book report on how different economic districts are faring (2 p.m.).

Here’s what else you need to know:

Chinese naval ships off Alaskan coast. Three Chinese combat ships, a replenishment vessel, and an amphibious ship moving toward the Aleutian Islands. It's the first time Chinese ships have been spotted in the area. Wall Street Journal

Hillz wins Puerto Rican support. New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has endorsed Clinton for president, ahead of Clinton's first trip to Puerto Rico this weekend. Clinton supports the island declaring bankruptcy and restructuring its $58 million debt. CNN

Obama winning Iran deal. Maryland Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski is backing President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. Mikulski is the 34th vote, making it impossible for the GOP to kill the deal in Congress. Politico

Lego is world's biggest toy maker. The Danish Lego had a 23% sales increase for the first half of 2015, while Mattel was hit with a 5% drop. "The Lego Movie" as well as special sets for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and others have boosted the toy maker to world domination. Financial Times (paywall)

Trouble ahead? China cracks down on "grey market" margin lending. Beijing is putting the kibosh on the non-bank market, estimated to be 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion). The goal may be to stop stock manipulation but the result could be a liquidity crisis. Reuters (h/t Quartz)

Beijing wouldn't let the stock market rain on its parade. That parade, of course, has long been in the making to mark the end of World War II. A stock market slump just wouldn't do. So Beijing worked its magic, turning a 4.7% collase on the Shanghai Composite into a 0.2% barely-there loss. Ditto the more volatile Shenzhen Composite, which trimmed its 4.8% drop to down 1.98%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Japan’s Nikkei Average meanwhile, slipped 1.18% and 0.39% respectively.

China sharpens the competition to the World Bank. Sources say the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will not ask borrowers to privatize or deregulate -- unlike the World Bank. The White

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